Improvement in apparatus for drying shoe-soles



A. F. SMITH.-

Apparatus for Drying Shoe Soles.

N0.- 123,585. Patented Feb-13,1872.

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Smarts Arum AARON F. SMITH, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 123,585, dated February 13, 1372.

T 0 allpcrsons to whom thcscpresents may come:

Be it known that I, AARON F. SMITH, of Lynn, of the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Apparatus for Drying Shoe-Soles for being Bufied; and I do hereby declare the same to be fully described in the following specification and represented in the accompanying drawing, of which- Figure 1 is a top view; Fig. 2, a front eleration; Fig. 3, an end View; and Fig. 4, a longitudinal section of it.

In drying shoe-soles for'being buffed by a bufflng-wheel or machine it has been the practice heretofore to place the shoes in a dryingroom or chamber and submit them to the desiccating powers of heated air contained therein. By this process the heat has been applied to the whole shoe. As a consequence it frequently happensthat the sole, or the heel, or both, becomes warped or cracked and the upper more or less injured, all of which is avoided by the use of my apparatus, which is intended simply to dry the lower surface of the shoe-sole and the sole to a trifling depth below such-via, enough to or a little more than will suffice for the performance of the buttingleaving the rest of the sole to be dried slowly in the atmosphere.

My apparatus enables shoes to be dried for the bufling operation much'more expeditiously than by the use of a hot-room or chamber, as practiced before my invention.

In carrying out my saidinvention, I in akc use of a case or box,A, made of thin sheet metal, of

the proper size and shape, giving the prefer once to a prism whose section transversely is an inclined parallelogram, such box being pro vided at its front side with an opening, a, having a door, I). \Vithin the box, and extending longitudinally in it, is a foraminous or perforated tube, B, projected therein from one end of such box, and intended, when in use, to couple with a flexile pipe or conduit to-lead inflammable gas into the pipe B. There is arranged on the top of the said box three rails, O D E, supported by standards 0 c ff projectin g up from the box. The two front rails are disposed at a short distance from the top of the box, the back rail being elevated higher,

effect the proper drying of them.

as shown, as it serves tosupport the shoes at their heels, which hang on it while the soles are resting on the other rails.

When shoes are to be dried they are to be placed on the rails, in manner as explained, in which case the soles will be in close proximity with the top of the box. On gas being introduced into the pipe B, and fired as it may pass out of the eduets thereof, the upper surface of the box will be soon heated by the flame of the gas and will radiate such heat upward, and as a consequence operate very effectively in drying the soles of shoes whenover it and upon the support-rails.

I do not limit my invention to the precise form as shown, as such may be varied, more Or less, without materially afiecting the principle of it. The means of heating the box may be also changed in form or construction, as may be desirable.

This little apparatus, simple as it is, has been found to beof great advantage, as it can be placed on the bench of a workman close to the buffing-wheel or machine; and if made large enough to support a dozen pairs of shoes each shoe may be dried to the extent necessary for being buffed, fresh shoes being put in the place of those removed. It saves the expense of dryingrooms, and the labor required to trans port the shoes thereto, remove them therefrom, as wellas the care and attention necessary to It also avoids the cracking or injury done to the leather, or sole, or heel by the drying-room. It enables the shoe to be buffed while in a heated state, whereby the buffing can be done to better advantage, and saves all glazing of the shoe as frequently takes place when the shoes are dried by the old process.

The racks or rails keep the shoe out of contact with the top of the box so as to prevent it from burning or scorching the sole; and besides such racks admit the radiated heat to be uniformly distributed against the sole. The door, 011 being opened a little, will let in air to supply the flame, and also let out the lllCOlllbustible gases. The box, being a close chain her, with no outlet except in front, and being there provided with a door, will retain the heated air and gases to great advantage, and

accomplishes its object under a very small conforth, and in manner and for the purpose as isnmption of inflammable gas. explained. a

I claim as my invention, and as a new man- AARON F. SMITH. ufaeture The apparatus, substantially as described, \Vitnesses: composed of the heating box, the gas-tube, R. H. EDDY, and the rails constructed and arranged as set J. R. SNOWv 

